RESPECTFUL CONDUCT POLICY

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The Wise Guys Charity Fund Board of Directors is committed to maintaining a respectful, safe, and welcoming environment.

This Policy outlines a process to address harassment and/or violence complaints in a manner that is sensitive and fair. Discrimination, harassment, and violence are considered egregious forms of misconduct. We are committed to adherence of the values of respect, dignity, and professionalism. We are committed to fostering an environment that is free from acts of discrimination, harassment, and/or violence.

This Policy applies to the Board of Directors, Volunteers, and/or individuals engaged on behalf of the Wise Guys Charity Fund.

DEFINITIONS

“Harassment” means a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome.

Single acts of sufficient severity may also constitute harassment. “Harassment” includes “Human Rights Harassment,” “Human Rights Discrimination,” “Personal Harassment,” “Psychological Harassment,” “Sexual Harassment,” and “Workplace Harassment” as defined below.

“Human Rights Harassment” means engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known to be or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome to an individual or group, based on the protected grounds in Ontario Human Rights Code. The protected grounds include:

• race, colour, ancestry, citizenship, ethnic origin, or place of origin
• creed, religion
• age
• sex
• gender identity and gender expression
• sexual orientation
• family, marital (including same-sex partnership) status
• disability or perceived disability
• a record of offences for which a pardon has been granted under the federal Criminal Records Act and has not been revoked or an offence in respect of any provincial enactment

“Psychological Harassment/Bullying” means any vexatious behaviour in the form of repeated and hostile or unwanted conduct, comments, actions or gestures, that affects an individual’s dignity or psychological or physical integrity and that results in a harmful work or learning environment for the individual. Psychological harassment can take many forms.

Psychological/bullying may have some or all of the following components:

• it is generally repetitive, although a single serious incident may constitute workplace harassment if it undermines the recipient’s psychological or physical integrity and has a lasting harmful effect
• it is hostile, abusive, or inappropriate
• it affects the person’s dignity or psychological integrity
• it results in a poisoned work environment
• it may be insulting, hurtful, hostile, vindictive, cruel, or malicious in nature
• it may undermine, disrupt, or negatively impact one’s ability to do their job
• it need not be intentional or deliberate

In addition, behaviour that intimidates, isolates, or discriminates against the recipient may also be included.

Some examples of psychological harassment/bullying include:

• verbally abusive behaviour such as yelling, insults, ridicule, and name calling, including remarks, jokes, or innuendoes that demean, ridicule, intimidate, or offend
• workplace pranks, vandalism, bullying, and hazing
• gossiping or spreading malicious rumours
• excluding or ignoring someone, including persistent exclusion of a particular person from work-related social gatherings
• undermining someone else’s efforts by setting impossible goals with short deadlines and deliberately withholding information that would enable a person to do his or her job
• humiliating someone
• sabotaging someone else’s work
• displaying or circulating offensive pictures or materials
• offensive or intimidating phone calls or e-mails
• making false allegations about someone in memos or other work-related documents

“Sexual Harassment” and/or “Workplace Sexual Harassment” is deemed to include, but is not restricted to:

• engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct against a worker in a workplace because of sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, where the course of comment or conduct is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome, or

• making a sexual solicitation or advance where the person making the solicitation or advance is in a position to confer, grant, or deny a benefit or advance to the worker and the person knows or ought reasonably to know that the solicitation or advance is unwelcome.

Sexual harassment includes conduct or comments of a sexual nature that the recipient does not welcome or that offend him or her. It also includes negative or inappropriate conduct or comments that are not necessarily sexual in nature, but which are directed at an individual because of his or her gender.

Both men and women can be victims of harassment and someone of the same or opposite sex can harass someone else.

Some examples of sexual harassment include:

• sexual advances or demands that the recipient does not welcome or want
• threats, punishment, or denial of a benefit for refusing a sexual advance
• offering a benefit in exchange for a sexual favour
• leering (persistent sexual staring)
• displaying sexually offensive material such as posters, pictures, calendars, cartoons, screen savers, pornographic or erotic Web sites, or other electronic material
• distributing sexually explicit e-mail messages or attachments such as pictures or video files
• sexually suggestive or obscene comments or gestures
• unwelcome remarks, jokes, innuendoes, propositions, or taunting about a person’s body, clothing, or sex
• demanding hugs
• unwelcome remarks about a person’s physical appearance
• bragging about sexual ability
• using rude or insulting language or making comments that stereotype girls, women, boys, or men
• asking for a date and not taking “no” for an answer
• persistent, unwanted attention after a consensual relationship ends
• physical contact of a sexual nature such as touching or caressing
• unnecessary touching or patting
• sexual assault

• the exercise of physical force by a person against a worker, in a workplace, that causes or could cause physical injury to the worker
• an attempt to exercise physical force against a worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker
• a statement or behaviour that it is reasonable for a worker to interpret as a threat to exercise physical force against the worker, in a workplace, that could cause physical injury to the worker.

• physically threatening behaviour such as shaking a fist at someone, finger pointing, destroying property, throwing objects
• verbal or written threats to physically attack a worker
• leaving threatening notes or sending threatening e-mails
• wielding a weapon at work
• intimidation
• physical restraint or confinement
• dangerous or threatening horseplay
• blatant or intentional disregard for the safety or wellbeing of others
• stalking someone
• physically aggressive behaviour, including hitting, shoving, standing excessively close to someone in an aggressive manner, pushing, kicking, throwing an object at someone, physically restraining someone, or any other form of physical or sexual assault

PREVENTING HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE AND ADDRESSING COMPLAINTS

While the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act only afford protections to those individuals defined by the legislation as “workers”, we are committed to an environment for our Volunteers that is free from harassment and violence.

Our “workplace” for the purpose of this Policy shall include any Wise Guys Charity Fund meeting, gathering, for business or any other Wise Guys Charity Fund event.

The Wise Guys Charity Fund will take steps to prevent and protect Volunteers from harassment and violence. While there is no legal obligation to prevent and protect Volunteers from forms of harassment other than sexual harassment, the Wise Guys Charity Fund endeavours to do so by fostering and maintaining a professional environment that is based on respect for the dignity and rights of all individuals as fundamental to our mission.

This means that the Wise Guys Charity Fund will take every reasonable precaution to ensure that harassment and/or violence does not happen, investigate harassment complaints in a timely and respectful manner when they are made, and take steps to ensure that harassment does not continue.

RESPONSIBILITIES

All Volunteers and Directors are expected to be able to recognize and discourage harassment, and to ensure the “workplace” is free from harassment. Volunteers and Directors have an obligation to report any incident of harassment immediately to the Chair of the Board.

If a Volunteer or Director believes they have witnessed harassment in the “workplace”, the following steps will be taken to deal with the situation:

• the individual will report the incident to the Chair of the Board
• if the complaint is against the Chair of the Board, the Director should speak with a Vice Chair of the Board
• the Chair of the Board will consult with necessary professional advisors and will be responsible for commencing an investigation that is appropriate in the circumstances and in a manner intended to protect the rights and confidentiality of both the alleged victim(s) and the alleged perpetrator

Whether or not the investigation involves an internal investigation or an independent third-party depends on the circumstances and is at the discretion of the Chair and/or their designate. The process and procedure for the investigation of complaints must address the following:

• all complaints will be taken seriously
• consideration will be given to whether or not the circumstances of the complaint warrant an internal investigation or an independent third-party investigation
• individuals who are interviewed during the investigation should understand that while confidentiality will be maintained to the extent possible, information may be shared for the purpose of conducting a fair investigation. Finding a balance between privacy and the obligation to investigate can be delicate and complete confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in all circumstances
• the results of the investigation will be communicated in writing to the complainant and the alleged perpetrator in a clear, concise manner
• the results of the investigation will be considered and acted on appropriately. For example, action items can consist of a request to resign as a Volunteer, request to resign from the Board, discipline or termination of involvement and/or association with the Wise Guys Charity Fund and/or prohibition from attending any Wise Guys Charity Fund events

ACCOUNTABILITY

The Wise Guys Charity Fund Board of Directors is accountable for implementation of this policy.